Were like Jerkyll and Hyde right now, we just beat the Devils and should have won our third straight game but...
I tell you what's wrong....Cloutier. Hate to say it but Bronx33 was right but I was hoping he would pan out. Now we have serious goalie problems and Garon is injured which means beachball will start a few games, we just called up Brust from the AHL and NOT Labarbera because of the re-entry waivers. I do like what Im seeing from the kids though this year ala Frolov, Brown, Cammalleri, and Kopitar. I suspect we will get more prospects at the trading deadline and we have Boyle and Jack Johnson for the future, I should reiterate that there is NO expectations from the Kings this year.

Where is Kelly Hrudey ?
I think some guy name Jaime is available for the Kings too.

At least you took my Ducks down tonight. Not a great weekend. SC lost, Broncos lose and Ducks lose the wrap up game against the Kings.

It's struck me, over the years, that as much success as the Avalanche have had on the ice (two Cups since '96, Vancouver fans!), the Pierre Lacroix/Francois Giguere era has been pretty lacking as far as the draft goes. Years of high hopes for Peter Ratchuk, Mikhail Kuleshov, Martin Grenier, and the like have embittered me.

I don't know if the Avs are really any worse (or better) than any other team, but (with one glaring exception) it seems like they've had a lot of underwhelming draft classes since coming to Denver.

Having some spare time at work tonight, I thought I'd take a look. I only started looking in 1995 -- rather unfairly, perhaps, since the Nordiques' 1994 draft class produced Chris Drury, Milan Hejduk, and Tim Thomas. But this is hardly a scientific study, really -- more just humoring something that's been bugging me for a while.

Only Babenko and Hinote ever played for Colorado -- Parrish was traded away (for Tom Fitzgerald, I think) and Pahlsson in the Ray Bourque deal, which I certainly can't complain about. Hinote, Pahlsson, and Parrish are all very different players with similar usefulness levels -- I'd say Pahlsson is the best of the group, but I'm not religious about it or anything.

Ok -- I'm a pretty big Avalanche fan, and in 1997 I was probably watching the draft. But for the life of me I cannot remember anything about Kevin Grimes. Uh, according to hockeydb.com, he hasn't played since 2004. And he appears to have been a tough defenseman. That's about it. As an added bonus, the Avs managed to find the less-talented Belak brother. Only Aebischer keeps this from being a comically bad year. Best player: Abby, by a mile.

The odd year out. Giving us hope that the Avs were perpetually self-sustaining, Lacroix accumulated four first round picks, in exchange for Mike Ricci, Stephane Fiset, Chris Simon, Curtis Leschyshyn, Landon Wilson and Anders Myrvold. There were rumors that the four would be swapped for the number one pick, giving Colorado the Michael Jordan of the NHL; that didn't happen, obviously, but they still came away with four NHL regulars. Unfortunately, those four were eventually swapped out, most depressingly in the Regehr/Corbet for Theo Fleury trade. Added bonus for the year: I've seen Riazantzev spelled more different ways than any name I've ever seen. Best player: Regehr.

Ah, Mikhail Kuleshov, perhaps the biggest disappointment. The early reports indicated this rarely-seen Russian winger was a diamond in the rough -- then it took a few years to get over, and he was a fringe AHLer when he got here. Grenier was part of the "I was traded for Ray Bourque" club. Of the full-time NHLers here, two of them were in the last three picks. Best player: Vrbata.

Or perhaps Nedorost is the biggest disappointment. He came to Colorado mucho hyped, made the cover of local magazines as the star of the new century, and so on, and ended up traded for Peter Worrell. He's back in Ceske Budejovice now, I think. Beyond that? I hadn't realized that the Avs originally drafted Kurt Sauer or Darryl Bootland. Learn something new every day. Best player: Liles

Two solid contributors bookending a bunch of minor-leaguers. It's about time for me to stop thinking that Mikko Viitanen's going to be a NHL star. Best player: Svatos.

I'll rather arbitratily stop here -- after 2001 it's probably still a bit early to tell, and it saves me having to contemplate that the Avs gave up Tom Gilbert for Tommy Salo.

But -- am I wrong here? Does this seem a bit below-par for a team over the same time period? Only the 1996 and 1998 classes can really be considered at all productive, beyond a player here or there. I'm not a stats guy -- or rather, I like stats but only when other people do them. So I really don't know if this is just about average. What say you?

The Avs have done well finding players in the middle and late rounds, but didn't do well in the early rounds (plus you have to consider draft picks that were traded away). There was a noticable change within the last few drafts, a high concentration of NCAA players (few European players). Now that there is a new chief scout, I'll be curious to see if the Avs draft philosophy will change again. My guess is that they'll start drafting European players again (they haven't selected one in the last two drafts), as they have hired some new European scouts.

When it comes to drafted players currently in the NHL, the Avs are in the top five of the NHL. So while they have made mistakes in the early rounds, their late and middle round drafting has made up for some of it.

I'll say another thing...the Avs have done poorly when it comes to drafting and developing defensemen. I'm hoping one of Williams/Montgomery turns out to be something and they may have a Liles-lite in Kyle Cumiskey, who is currently playing in Albany.

Sunrise, FL - Florida Panthers forward Joe Nieuwendyk has announced his retirement due to lingering back problems.

'This game has been great to me,' said Nieuwendyk. 'I am forever grateful to all those players, coaches, general managers and everyone that I have been associated with throughout my playing career. I have had a lot of fun playing this game, but it was time for me to make this decision, as it was in the best interest of myself as well as my family.'

Nieuwendyk made the decision to retire following a visit to a specialist at a Cleveland clinic last Thursday. Doctors there advised the 40-year-old forward that it would not be in his best interest to try and comeback from injuries which have plagued him for the past three seasons.

On Monday, he informed head coach and general manager Jacques Martin that he was thinking of retirement, then made the decision public.

Nieuwendyk joined the Panthers prior to the 2005-2006 season as an unrestricted free agent. Following a 26-goal campaign last year, he has only played 15 games this season, scoring five goals, and has not seen action since November 28th.

The Oshawa, Ontario native was the 27th overall pick in the 1985 draft, and broke in with the Flames out of Cornell University in 1987. He is one of only three players in league history to reach the 50-goal plateau in each of his first two full seasons (51 in 1987-88 and 1988-89), joining Hall-of-Famers Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy.

In a 20-year career, Nieuwendyk has accumulated 564 goals, 562 assists for 1126 points in 1257 games with Calgary, Dallas, New Jersey, Toronto and Florida.

'Joe is a first-class act who has been a tremendous ambassador for the game,' general manager and head coach Jacques Martin said. 'His career numbers speak for themselves and he will forever be recognized as one of the league's most successful players. The entire Panthers organization wishes Joe and his family the best in their future endeavors.'

The 1988 Calder Trophy winner for top rookie in the NHL is also a three-time Stanley Cup winner, with Calgary (1989), Dallas (1999), and New Jersey (2003). His international career includes two stints representing Canada in two Winter Olympics, winning a Gold Medal in Salt Lake City in 2002.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Peter Forsberg isnít hurt. He doesnít have the flu. No measles, mumps, or chicken pox either. Yet, heís going to miss at least the next week because his skates donít fit right.

Forsberg was scratched from the lineup Friday with continued discomfort in his right skate boot and will be out of the lineup until a proper replacement can be found.

"Heíll probably be out at least the next four games," said Flyers G.M. Paul Holmgren. "I think itís fair to say weíre frustrated with it now, just like Peter is. But, weíre not ready to wave the white flag just yet. Peter doesnít feel that way either. Weíre going to keep trying to find a solution for this. If there is one there."

Forsberg will undergo an extensive evaluation at Temple University Monday and then will fly to Montreal Wednesday to meet with representatives of the Bauer equipment company in hopes of constructing a skate boot that will fit his foot and allow him to play at or near his expected level.

"I wouldnít do any good on the ice," said Forsberg. "It feels like I canít turn..For my own safety too..I donít think itíll be good until we find a skate that gets better and we find a skate thatís at least close to where I should be and can keep my balance. Right now it doesnít feel like that at all."

Forsberg backed out of the lineup after the teamís Friday morning practice at Continental Airlines Arena.

After scratching himself from the lineup, an aggravated Forsberg threw his equipment across the locker room.

"He feels like heís actually hurting the hockey team, not helping by the way heís playing," said Flyers coach John Stevens. "So, itís not like thereís pain in the foot where he canít play, he becomes so unbalanced by the way it fits right now, heís unable to play beyond 50 percent."

The questions have been mounting about whether this is a medical problem and not just an equipment issue, but, Forsberg is high maintenance. He is a perfectionist, and the team has said the doctors who have examined the Flyers captain do not feel there is anything significantly wrong with the surgically repaired right foot or ankle.

"None of the doctors have alluded to that," said Holmgren. "We know his ankle is loose -- the ligaments -- but I was also on a conference call with Peter and Dr. (Brian Donley of the Cleveland Clinic) and he feels surgery is not an option to fix it. The only option he has is to work with some kind of brace or boot that is built to hold things in place, and thatís what weíre trying to do."

Forsberg concurred, giving specifics about the inner workings of his foot.

"Thereís nothing that can be done surgically about it," said Forsberg. "One of things that is happening is Iím stretching the small ligaments and maybe it has something to do with that, but I donít want to speculate. Thereís nothing you can do to fix those though. Theyíre too small to go in there and fix."

Since his arrival in Philadelphia, prior to last season, the Flyers have not fared to well without Forsberg in the lineup.

Last season they were 10-10-2 without him, and 35-16-9 with him. This year, they havenít won any of the five game prior to Friday that he missed (0-2-3), and are 8-13-1 with him - and thatís without him being anywhere close to the player he can be.

"Heís not a guy thatís easily replaced," said Stevens. "He creates a big hole in the lineup. For the last little while itís put a big focus on the team game and have everyone concentrate on the team game. Maybe by committee we can get some good things done here."

Meanwhile, the Flyers need to start weighing other options, as in what they can do to bolster the lineup if Forsberg is going to be in-and-out of the lineup for the remainder of the season.

"Is there something we can do that will make us better while weíre waiting for Peter," asked Holmgren rhetorically. "Well, weíre always looking to do that anyway. You can only do what you can do. Nothing is coming down the pike that we can do anyway.

"Weíve been proactive trying to find help, but there are certain guys that arenít going anywhere regardless."

As for Forsbergís future..well..it remains up in the air, and while he doesnít want to talk about it, retirement is looming as an option for the 33-year-old, two-time Stanley Cup Winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist.

"Of course Iím frustrated," said Forsberg. "Itís probably the hardest part of my career. I want to be out there and I canít help my team win.

"I donít want to think like that (about retirement). Thereís got to be a solution. Hopefully thereís a way to get it done. I know itís going to be hard and frustrating, but Iíve got to stay positive."

lll

The Flyers sent Boyd Kane back to the Phantoms of the AHL, but with Forsberg out for the time being, chances are he will be back soon.

Individual point scoring based upon time on ice. This places first-liners and fourth-liners on an even footing. All values are normalized to a typical game for a first-liner: 20 minutes of ice time per game.

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. ó The Carolina Hurricanes departed Raleigh-Durham International Airport last week and flew out of the Eastern time zone for the first time in the 2006-07 season.

It will be one of just two trips away from the East Coast this season (the second will be to Minnesota in February, the last leg of a three-game road trip). The Hurricanes will play four games during this nine-day trip, from the mountains of Colorado to wildly underrated Vancouver.

Ten Western Conference teams will not see Eric Staal flourish in his third NHL season, marvel at Cam Ward's athletic ability or count the minutes the seemingly ageless Rod Brind'Amour spends on the ice each night.

Here in North Carolina, fans will not have the chance to view NHL stars like Joe Sakic, Jarome Iginla, Ryan Smyth, Nicklas Lidstrom, Pavel Datsyuk and Miikka Kiprusoff up close. Doug Weight will not make a return to Carolina, nor will the Hurricanes make a trip to St. Louis.

This is a tragedy. And it's a major hurdle in reestablishing the NHL as one of the four major sports leagues in the United States.

The NHL has gotten so much right after getting so much wrong during the year-long lockout that killed the 2004-05 season. The game has not been this exciting in recent memory, young stars are seemingly growing on trees and the league's marketing attempts have reached out to young audiences.

But in making a decision, post-lockout, to schedule eight games against divisional rivals each season and four games against each conference opponent, the league created a mess.

That scheduling arrangement, intended to create and enhance geographic rivalries, left just 10 games to be played against teams in the opposing conference.

So each season, each of the 30 NHL teams will not play any games against five other NHL teams. How does this make sense?

The purpose of playing the season is to prepare yourself for a run at the Stanley Cup. Does playing eight games against Florida do that for Carolina? Does it do anything other than insure less-than-capacity crowds by the end of the season, when fans should be gearing up for the Stanley Cup playoffs but instead are asking, "Them? Again?"

There is simply no reason ó from financial to competitive to because someone said so ó to continue this insane two-year experiment in scheduling.

The owners, meeting this week in Florida, are expected to discuss this issue. That's a start, though no one should leave the room until commissioner Gary Bettman has been told how to proceed.

Every team should play every other team twice, once at home and once on the road. Six games is plenty to play against divisional rivals.

That leaves 28 games in the 82-game NHL schedule. If each team plays their remaining conference opponents at home and away, it leaves eight games. Rotating the games among the 10 conference opponents will work.

I didn't really care for Murray, but he did do a good job with the Kings. He doesn't have a stanley cup, but he's a better coach than crawford.

Murray may be a nice guy but we didn't do jack due to his conservative gameplan, Crawford can be an A-hole but he really opens up the ice for the players. Once we get some actual talent in LA (someone to actually help Kopitar) then we will be pretty damn good. I wish Murray all the best but Im glad he is gone, Crawford will do well here.

Murray may be a nice guy but we didn't do jack due to his conservative gameplan, Crawford can be an A-hole but he really opens up the ice for the players. Once we get some actual talent in LA (someone to actually help Kopitar) then we will be pretty damn good. I wish Murray all the best but Im glad he is gone, Crawford will do well here.

Crawford had a pretty talented team in Vancouver, and didn't do anything with it. He's a hack. Oh well...as long as kings fans are happy with him...that's all that matters.

Crawford had a pretty talented team in Vancouver, and didn't do anything with it. He's a hack. Oh well...as long as kings fans are happy with him...that's all that matters.

Crawford didn't start with a talented team in Van. Crow is the second youngest coach to reach 400 wins second to Scotty Bowman, and I can rattle off more things about Crow coaching stats if I wanted to. Fact of the matter is that the entire Kings organization has been rebuilt from the Front office to the equipment manager. Things aren't going to click overnight. Once the Kings bring up the talent from the minors and junior leagues then things will move forward. We have Tukonen, Jack Johnson, Johnathan Bernier, Brian Boyle, Joe Ryan, 0'Sullivan, and Petiot. Not to mention Brown, Cammalleri, Frolov, and Kopitar are all young players playing everyday for the Kings. I suspect the next year or two things will start moving quickly.

Crawford didn't start with a talented team in Van. Crow is the second youngest coach to reach 400 wins second to Scotty Bowman, and I can rattle off more things about Crow coaching stats if I wanted to. Fact of the matter is that the entire Kings organization has been rebuilt from the Front office to the equipment manager. Things aren't going to click overnight. Once the Kings bring up the talent from the minors and junior leagues then things will move forward. We have Tukonen, Jack Johnson, Johnathan Bernier, Brian Boyle, Joe Ryan, 0'Sullivan, and Petiot. Not to mention Brown, Cammalleri, Frolov, and Kopitar are all young players playing everyday for the Kings. I suspect the next year or two things will start moving quickly.

Careful, cb. At the end of Crawford's stint with the Kings, that could be all you are left with, stats.